Lettuce Be Friends!
by chibitzee
Summary: Yuuichiro Amane loves guinea pigs. And visiting the guinea pig shelter. And maybe the shop's super cute manager, Mikaela Shindo. What could happen? [Written for the 365 Days of Mikayuu Project 2018]
1. Chapter 1

**Another piece for the 365 Days of Mikayuu project on Tumblr. Yuu's POV is so fun to write, I love it and I love him (and Mikaela too).**

 **It's a fourshot, and the last piece will be uploaded on the 16th of April. :) Hope you all like it!**

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 **Lettuce Be Friends!**

 **Summary :** Yuuichiro Amane loves guinea pigs. And visiting the guinea pig shelter. And maybe the shop's super cute manager, Mikaela Shindo. What could happen? [Written for the 365 Days of Mikayuu Project 2018]

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Every afternoon, just before the sun sets red and Yuuichiro Amane is finished with his four-pm university class, he rushes over through the bustling town streets, makes a sharp right, and stops by the display window of the third shop to his left. It's secluded from the rest of the town, the kind of alleyway one wouldn't want to traverse at the dead of the night. Beyond the shop, however, is a jovial wonderland — plastic balls of different sizes stored beside a full shelf of supplies, co-inhabited glass containers and warm colours. Yuu's brilliant green eyes light up. With his face and hands against the separating glass, he watches, yearning deeply to go through the doors; of holding, pampering and caring for the little bundles of joy.

And he'd be lying to himself, perhaps even _blind_ , if he said the owner of the guinea pig shelter wasn't a total cutie. He couldn't be older than Yuuichiro, with his kind smile, pretty eyes and venerably calming presence. Soft blond locks line the sides of face, the rest of his hair either tied behind him in a loose ponytail or covered by a new bandana every day. _Mikaela Shindo,_ Yuu thinks his name was. He's never gotten close enough to be able to read the name tag pinned on the man's chest, but he'd heard it from the girls who came in and went occasionally.

 _Tch._ The lucky bastards. Of course they'd stop over from whichever place they've come from, finding this specific dead end of the city, pretending to be _interested in the guinea pigs_ just to be able to talk to the manager. Why, if Yuu could only take their place—

He huffs, shaking his head to clear his imaginative thoughts. Residing in the bottom display container, a ginger guinea pig with dollops of white by its hind legs and rear sniffs at the wood shavings surrounding its territory. When it looks up at him, Yuu's hardened heart melts and he drops to its eye level— so _pure_ , so _precious_. Adorable little thing.

Truly, Mr-Pretty-Face is only a bonus of his afternoons. Yuuichiro stays because he loves guinea pigs, and when he'd heard they'd replaced a decrepit shoe store for a fresher, much homelier pet shelter, he just knew he had to come by every day.

"Back again this afternoon? You are free to come inside, you know. I tell you this everyday." he hears a young man speaking to him. Yuu turns to his left and shrugs at Mikaela, the latter poking his head through the opened door. He's dressed in red today (It looks sort of good on him? Yuu's mind provides for him) and the white bandana he's wearing is decorated in a blue, pink and yellow-patterned print.

"I'm fine here, thanks." he replies curtly. It's a lie. He wants more than anything to be at the center of the shop, flitting to and fro each glass container while he fills up the guinea pigs' bowls to the brim.

Mikaela nods once, seeming to understand. Yuu is grateful that he's not being shooed away; not today or on the other days. Heck, if another, less kind individual was looking after the shop, he'd be dubbed a loiterer and a creep, simply staring inside from the display window for three or so hours. A low-quality poster of his face would be plastered on the door — four simple words indicting him of his crime _. This Guy is Banned._

The sweet-natured Mikaela would never do that to him, though.

"You're always outside," the blonde manager points out the obvious, leaving the shelter momentarily to converse with him. "Don't tell me you're one of those guys who hates being associated with cute pets because of some societal-driven image?"

"No!" Yuu argues. "No, of course not, the heck if I care what people think of me."

"Then come in." Mika gestures to the door with a tilt of his head. "I can show you the ropes? I've been aware of you enough to know how much you love guinea pigs. I would know. It's been a dream of mine for a long time to be managing a pet shelter of my own."

Sweet-natured Mikaela, heaven sent and suddenly one of Yuu's closest allies. It's a tempting offer, but before he can disagree or think hard about it, Mikaela grabs a hold of one of his hands and drags him in.


	2. Chapter 2

The view from within is even better than the view from outside. In here, Yuu can count the individual whiskers of the sleeping guinea pigs, and hear the screech-screech sound made by the turning of the exercise wheels. The once dark and bland area is filled with love in every corner — guinea pigs feasting on vegetables, guinea pigs ambling along the perimeter of their comfortable homes, guinea pigs cooing _everywhere._ Yuu's instincts win him over and he approaches the glass containers, fingers lingering on every surface. Had he been more aware of his surroundings, he would have noticed Mikaela's calculating gaze on him, grinning as he lets a stranger circle the shelter with unbridled curiosity.

When Yuu finishes exploring, he stops over by his favourite guinea pig's housing up front– the ginger-white hybrid on display. It apparently has a name. _Clover,_ reads the tag at the top-right corner.

"Darn it, I wish I could adopt you," he tells the pet longingly. He's immediately taken aback when Clover hears him, turning to the direction of his voice. For the second time that day, Yuuichiro feels his heart ready to explode.

"I found her on the side of a neighbourhood road, if you must know." Mikaela starts. "She'd been attacked by stray cats, abandoned by her owner, and her fur was falling out. I almost thought she was a goner. I want her to find a loving home this time around, because she's a curious one and deserves only the best."

"No one wants her?" Yuu can't even begin to comprehend.

Mikaela shrugs. "There are thirteen guinea pigs in this room, all of them from broken homes or with some sort of disability. Clover is the oldest at three years old, and she's blind in one eye. Even so, she's very active and relies on her other senses to guide her around."

The thought that there are people out there who would dare mistreat such a lovely creature grates on Yuu's nerves to no end. There is only sadness when he traces Clover's outline on the glass, a mile-high barrier he is hesitant to cross.

"Do you want to hold her?" asks Mikaela when he's silent for a while. It seems there is no point in him asking because with bare, calloused hands, he digs into the container and lifts her up, supporting the guinea pig by its rump and chest. Clover struggles for a bit, but Mikaela is patient when he nuzzles her to himself. Then he turns to Yuu.

"I– N-No, I can't. I mustn't," Yuu voices frantically. He throws his hands out in front of him, stumbling backwards and onto Clover's glass container in his haste. Then he slips himself down on the floor.

"Uhm, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm just… I don't think I s-should, t-today."

Yuu curses in his head, berating himself for being so pathetic. Honestly, is it really so _bad_? But it could be, because he already feels himself get that prickly feeling he despises so much. N-No, not now, not here! Had his body already flushed out his only means of protection? Why does God hate him so?!

Mikaela's raised brow unsettles him, so Yuu turns away, regretful and conflicted and one-hundred-percent guilty. He covers his mouth before anything else, the need to leave RIGHT NOW solidifying with every breath. He exhales. Yuu's not sure when the blonde man put Clover back in her cage, but he's making his way towards the back end of the shelter, disappearing behind a closed door.

…Right. This could be a good time for Yuu to leave.

"You said you can't do it _today_ , but not never, right?" Mikaela's voice rings from across the room. Once done with his errand, he strides towards him in confident steps, momentarily towering over Yuu before he crouches down to meet him, shimmering blue eyes speaking wonders and decrypting all traces of Yuu's doubts. He hands him a business card.

"Come back again tomorrow. If you can't adopt, then you could volunteer. I could use the extra pair of hands."

Was… Was this man serious?

"I don't think—" Yuu begins to protest, but then he's got his hands over his mouth again.

"I think anyone who spends their precious time standing in front of an isolated shelter everyday without fail is the exact someone I want around here." Then he winks, sunshine smile and all. A whiff of mint and wood shavings is the last thing Yuu needs before he's out the door in record time.

Code red, code red! It's one thing loving guinea pigs but being unable to be around them, and it's another when some blonde guy plays to his weaknesses and offers him something he doesn't have the heart to decline. When Yuu's ran far enough, the sneezing fits and wheezing start coming, and they don't stop for a while.

Damn it, what did he get himself into?


	3. Chapter 3

He thought of moving away.

Yuuichiro thought of fleeing to another city, of changing his name so that Mikaela wouldn't find him, or maybe hiding out in another country until the storm has come to pass. He'd have leave his classes for a while and take a gap year, or switch to an online course so he can take them from afar. Yuuichiro thought of many things.

But does Mikaela even know his name? For all he knows, he could be, "That Weird Guy" or "The Dude Who Visits My Shelter" in the blonde's head. And heck, he didn't have to _move away_. He could simply avoid the shelter and never go there ever again.

…But the guinea pigs!

How could he stay away from them? He was already attached to Clover, and the other guinea pigs were so cute. He remembers the black-coated fellow on the exercise wheels, and the light grey one sleeping near the back end of the shelter reminded Yuu of his very own pet as a young boy. That was before he found out he was allergic to them and _poor_ , adorable Ashen had to be taken away.

He cried many tears when it happened. To add salt to the wound, his fathers forbade him from owning another one ever again. It resulted with him being terrified of handling the one thing he loved most in the entire world.

Life is not fair.

When he comes home to his own apartment, Yuu throws himself on the double-seated couch, upset with making a fool of himself. Darn it, he should be able to do whatever the heck he wants! Mikaela suggested he think about adopting Clover, and boy, if only he could. He can already imagine the memories they would make, like giving her baths or chasing her as she runs around his place.

If Mikaela finds out he's allergic to guinea pigs, would he throw Yuu out into the streets too? Would he forbid him from seeing Clover again for his own good? Perhaps not. Being around the little things may be terrible for his health, but Yuu doesn't care. If he must tolerate the intimidating presence that was Mikaela, the guinea pig shelter's only staff member and manager, and if he had to accept such a risky volunteering job and succeed at it, then Yuu will take as many antihistamines, wear as many layers and gloves as he needs to for the sake of those guinea pigs. True love never dies!

Unfortunately, stupidity does not either.

 **-o-O-o-**

"This one is Butters. You can probably tell why."

Butters. The golden-coated guinea pig is timid and healthy, large brown eyes trained on Yuu for a moment before it scurries towards its nesting area. It pounces on a toy and circles it, button nose quivering.

"He's the last one?" Yuu asks, waggling his finger at it. Mikaela confirms his question with a, "Mhmm", his full attention on the clipboard in his hands. Yuu spends his morning off getting to know the other twelve, like Shimmer, the black-coated Storm, and the youngest of the bunch, a white guinea pig called Soap.

"So how exactly does your adoption process work?" continues Yuu. "You're a one-man babysitter, hoping to find good shelters for abandoned and disabled guinea pigs. What goes into it? Are you funded by animal activist companies, or is this just an individual thing?"

Mikaela responds without looking up. "The latter. I have a lot of money saved up, and I use that money to fund important causes like caring for animals. I've always loved guinea pigs and already rescued a few of them from home, so one day while passing by, I bought this place. I could easily keep them all but, I thought sharing the love with passionate pet owners would benefit us both." When he tilts his head to one side, Yuu notices the pig-shaped clips Mikaela is wearing to pin back his fringe. How cute.

"Prior to opening, I obtained a pet certification license, so I know the processes of inspecting potential owners' backgrounds and making sure the pet's future home is suitable for them. There will be adoption fees for supplies and medical care — the intimidating stuff. Still though, it's mostly an instinct thing for me. I'll know an individual has the capability to care for a potential pet when they'll do _anything_ , even it means endangering themselves, for their sake."

The next gaze Mikaela shoots at him burns, like he's got him all figured out. Nevertheless, his honest words change things. The Mikaela of last week was an impish, overbearing stranger — his presence and the matter he handles situations foreign to Yuu. Now, however, Yuu _sees_ himself in Mikaela — a young man with a desire to protect the creatures who need a second chance at life. He's glad he decided to come in today. Just in case he has another allergic reaction, he's got two packets of antihistamine pills in his pocket, and he coated up like the middle of winter.

"Mmhm," hums Mikaela, clicking and unclicking his pen quickly. "Yuu, would you be okay with handling things in here for a while? I'm going out." He crosses the area to grab a jacket from the back — Mikaela's office, Yuu knows now.

"W-W-What? You're leaving me just like that? It's barely afternoon!"

Mikaela grins at him. "I'm aware. There's something I forgot to pick up nearby, and I need it _now_. I've already filled their houses with hay, so for feeding time, please make sure to cut up romaine lettuce and cherry tomatoes from the back fridge like I showed you. If someone comes in, tell them to hold until I return." He frees his hair from the ponytail and combs through it a little. "I won't be long. You can do it."

Already abandoning him to go out on his first day! Preposterous! Yuu's weak goodbye is the last thing he hears before he's gone, the door creaking slowly to a close.


	4. Chapter 4

**Last chapter! Thank you for reading Lettuce Be Friends! I'll definitely have more Mikayuu in store soon!**

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Well.

…This is almost a dream come true.

Yuu in a room full of fluffy guinea pigs? **Alone**? No allergy is going to stop him from becoming the best volunteering caretaker Mikaela has hired!

A childish squeal escapes his mouth, and the first thing he does is exactly what Mikaela requested he do. Excusing himself when he enters the blonde's office, he skips over to the refrigerators, grabs his vegetables, then the knife and chopping board from the cupboard. With neat knife skills, the chore takes five minutes. To finish off, he transfers the greens to a giant bowl and takes the measuring cup drying by the sink to portion the guinea pigs' food with.

Yuu is free to watch over the guinea pigs while they play, but he'll have to bring their food over for feeding time. He's about to dump the plastic cling wrap into the open bin when Yuu notices it— his very lifeline and the reason he can do this job sticking out over the pair of disposable gloves.

.

.

No.

It can't be.

There is an empty packet of… Yuu's same brand of antihistamines in the bin? And a nasal spray bottle? Mikaela's name is printed on both, damning the blonde all the more.

Mikaela Shindo, his insufferable and carefree, self-employed manager… the idiot who'd gone and left him to pick up a questionable package… a young man rich enough to "buy a store out of the blue" for a muddle of vulnerable guinea pigs… has a pet allergy?!

It's too much of a scary coincidence that Yuu finds himself actually backing away slowly from the bin. **No way**. Assuming he really _is_ allergic to guinea pigs, how in the world is Mikaela functioning? Medicine can only do so much, and yet he RUNS a guinea pig shelter.

As an individual project. Funded by his own savings.

Because he _cares_.

What has Yuu ever done in his life that could compare to the blonde's very actions? He's sweet, incredibly attractive, an animal lover and has the uncanny ability to catch Yuu off-guard.

When he was outside of the shelter for weeks on end, longing to come in and look around, did Mikaela go through that too, once?

When he was afraid to cross the line and hold Clover, did he know how Yuu felt?

…Damn it. He's too perfect.

Yuu chews on his bottom lip when he carries the bowl full of vegetables into the main area. "H-Here's your food, Hawthorn and Soap," he tells the first duo, scooping up the cupful of greens and unloading it into their bowls. Upon reaching Shimmer, Punt and Jolly, the shaky hand he's using to handle the cup is firmer; more at ease.

There is more lettuce and tomatoes to go around for Storm and Simpson, Docky and Bell, Paprika, Butters and Coffee. Not long after, he arrives at the front, unloading the last scoopful for his favourite pig Clover. She doesn't look hungry. While she plays in her favourite corner, sniffing at the glass panel, Yuu takes the bold chance to pet her ginger and white fur. Slowly. Cautiously.

Just. One. Pat.

He doesn't have to be afraid anymore. When you love something so much, why should fear stop you?

.

.

.

"It's so soft," Yuu mumbles, his voice failing him. He pats Clover again, one finger graduating to four, a laugh on his lips. It's a feeling he remembers: warm and comforting, the touch and presence of a creature that loves unconditionally. Yuu decides then to lift her and hug Clover to himself, nuzzling the pet with his cheek for a good while. In return, she squeaks at him happily.

Yuu is never going to leave this place again.

"I'm back!" Mikaela says as soon as he opens the door, a brown paper bag in his possession. Yuu flinches in surprise, glaring at the intruder who dared to interrupt his nuzzling.

Mika puts his coat and package away, unfazed as usual. "Oh good, you made them food. Thanks for that, Yuu-chan." Then he smirks at him knowingly. "Did I catch you two at a bad time?"

"Shut it! I'm having a moment so let me have it!"

"Alright, alright. You can dote on Clover. Make sure to give the other ones face rubs too or they'll feel left out. Be careful with Hawthorn, though. He's a squirmy one."

When Mikaela smiles at him this time around—blue eyes crinkling with mirth, pride and _something else_ he can't place— Yuu's stomach turns and his heart hammers in his chest. He has great respect for the blonde now. One day, when he gets used to all the nitty-gritty of volunteering, maybe Yuu will tell Mikaela his secret. It shouldn't come as a surprise, considering they share the same fate.

Yuu resumes nuzzling Clover while Mikaela organizes the shelves.

Damn it indeed.

There is one thing Yuuichiro Amane loves most in the world: being able to hold, play with, study and care for guinea pigs despite being insanely allergic to them. Sooner or later, there will be two things he loves most in the world: being able to spend his experiences and love with someone who is **just like him**.


End file.
